“this is the recipe of life
said my mother
as she held me in her arms as i wept
think of those flowers you plant
in the garden each year
they will teach you
that people too
must wilt
fall
root
rise
in order to bloom.”
Twelve lines on the back of a book was all that it took for poet Rupi Kaur to capture me once again. Twelve lines that capture a lifetime of emotions. Rupi Kaur has a way with words.
Kaur is an Indian-Canadian poet who quietly pours her soul onto paper with the influence of personal experiences and the experiences of others. Kaur has become an influence to young women around the world. She writes empowering poems on topics that are often avoided: violence, love, sex, and migration. She has a voice, and she is empowering young women to realize that they have one too.
Kaur’s first published collection of poetry, Milk and Honey, was the beginning of a journey that would leave readers wanting more. “I hope your eyes fall in love with the poems. I hope the milk spills through you and the honey sweetens the way. Thank you for holding my heart in your hands,” she wrote. Before even allowing her poems to captivate you, she makes the love she has for what she does clear. Lucky for us readers, we were able to get more.
Kaur published her second collection of poetry, The Sun and Her Flowers, in late 2017. When I was informed that Kaur would be publishing another collection of poetry, I got emotional. Kaur’s words make me feel whole. I went in to reading her second book with high expectations, and finished it feeling as if my expectations had been exceeded.
With five chapters: wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming, The Sun and Her Flowers immediately reminded me that I am human and it is okay to feel like a human. I am pain, and I am hurt, and I am love. Throughout this book, Kaur reminded me that I will wilt, fall, root, rise and bloom. But most importantly, she reminded me that that is okay.
As I was reading The Sun and Her Flowers, I found one poem in particular that I will always go back to. Kaur wrote, “It was when I stopped searching for home within others / and lifted the foundations of home within myself / I found there were no roots more intimate / than those between a mind and body / that have decided to be whole.”
As someone who always searches for life in someone else, Kaur reminded me that I am life. I am whole on my own and that is the most beautiful thing that we will ever have the privilege to experience.
If you haven’t read Milk and Honey or Kaur’s new book, The Sun and Her Flowers, I would implore you to do so. Open your mind and soul to new words and allow Kaur to empower you.
